In the midst of a 2016 presidential race overflowing with candidates, Monday’s NBC Today instead decided to devote three minutes of air time to a Maryland congressional contender with little chance of even securing the Democratic Party’s nomination for the seat. Co-host Matt Lauer introduced the fawning segment: “Caitlyn Jenner getting a lot of attention right now, but she's not the only transgender American breaking new ground.”
Kristin Beck
By Nathan Roush | June 11, 2013 | 12:55 PM EDT
Openly gay CNN anchor Anderson Cooper devoted a full quarter of his Thursday, June 6 program to the story of a transgender ex-Navy SEAL who laments that he could not serve in the military now as a man who identifies as a woman. [Listen to the audio here]
Cooper chronicled the adult life of Christopher Beck, who now goes by Kristin, who first enlisted in the Navy in 1990 and would eventually achieve his goal of serving as a member of the Navy SEALs. However, he claimed that he always had an inner struggle with his gender identity. He was born a man, but identified himself as a woman. He also claims to have signed up for the SEALs to try to suppress or “cure” his feminine desires but never could.